Improvement in machines for sawing marble



ZSheetsP-Sheeth L. B. CLGSTUN. Machines for Sawng Marble.

PATENT OFFICE.

LUcrUs BL cLoesrroN, or FAIR nnvan,'vnl'nron'nA IMPROVEMENT I `MACHINES FOR SAWING MARBLE.

Specicatien forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,320, dated August 25, 1874 application led May 13, 1874.

- To all whom lit may concern:

` Beit known that I, LUcrUs B. GLoGsfroN,

of Fairliaven, State of Vermont, have inview of the machine, illustrating the several parts of the invention. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the feeding mechanism used with this machine on an enlarged scale. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the holding-down device, illustrating its operation. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a modication of the holding-down device.

My invention relates to certain improve ments in machines for sawing stone, and conslsts 1n the employment of certain new combinations of devices with the usual frame and operating parts of the machine whereby the saws will be held down to their work; they will be rendered automatic, and the saws be more readily lowered or raised, all of which I will proceed to describe in referen` to the drawings and letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters indicating like parts.

In the drawings, A A represent the usual posts acting as guides to the saw-frame, and supporting the upper structure. A A are the bearing-timbers of the frame supporting the usual windlass B carrying the drum y B', and the shafts C C bearing the sheaves C C. D Vis lthe gang-saw. frame suspended from above, and capable of being raised or lowered by the chains, wire cable, or rope D passing from the windlass B over the sheaves C C', and connecting with the traveling bars E, which is connected with the said saw-frame by the usual suspension-rods E E. The said saw-frame is operated by the pitman F, from a crank-wheel, F', in the usual manner.

All the above parts are old, and form no part of this invention, but are used in connection with my improvements.

Heretofore the saws in the gan g-frame were permitted to enter the stone by their abrasion of the same, 'arisin g from a reciprocating movement of the saws, attended by. the pressing down of the same by the weight of the frame of the gang, which frame, when oscillating in a rapid manner, would rise or be thrown up at each extreme of the throw of the pitman, and thereby carry the saws above their intended cut; or the saws have been kept down to their work, and against such throw-up, by screw-threaded revolving-rods working into screw-threaded housings attached to the traveling bars at each end, in which, after a few days Wear, there would be produced considerable backlash; or again, the saws have been helddown by a pawl or dog, secured to the ends of the traveling bar, and working into rack-bars standing vertical with the guideposts, which arrangement was defective because the teeth ofthe rack-bars would not `correspond in most cases with the depth of the cut given at each stroke of the saws, growing out of the varying degrees of hardness in the stones operated with.

In my invention I use the smooth bars G, Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, placed vertical and parallel with the guide-posts A A and each other, as shown, and supported at their ends from the brackets a a, Figs. l and 4. .The ends of the traveling bars E E are provided with the housings Gr Gr', secured firmly to the said traveling bar, and working with the vertical bars Gr., which they surround and. act with as ways for the proper guiding of the said traveling bar iu its descent. H H are friction-gripers, closing round the vertical ways G between the jaws of the housings G G', and pivoted to the ends of the traveling bars, and at a point below the top edge of the griper, and from the arm c, so as to be capable of a swinging movement from the lower side of the upper l jaw of the housing to a point near to or below a plane with thepoint sv of the pivoting of the said griper, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6. Pivoted to -the arms b b (preferably) of the housings isV the bell-crank levers ce', one of which levers isplaced beneath the grper, while the otherv connects with a 3 and dotted lines in Fig. 6,'or to permitthe',r

up, and in case a saw isA broken or the gang drawfrod, f, connected with a hand-lever,f',j= Figs. 4. and 6. The said lever f' operates "si-1 multaneouslywith each of the draw-rods f, to' operate the bell-crank levers e e', to throw the gripers H Hup, as shown by full lines in Fig.

fall of the said gripers to a position 'shown by full lines in Fig. 6 and dotted lines in Fig. 3. When the said gripers are thrown up the traveling-bar is capable of being moved ver-g tically in either direction; but when the said gripers are cast down the said bar canonly'` be moved downward, while all upward mov! ing of the said bar is ei'ectually prevented by the wedging operation of the guide-bar G with the housing G', and the said gripers' as they bind against the guide-bar, and key the housy ing from sliding upward on the same. By this part of my invention each fraction of an inch o f the lowering of the traveling bar will be rmly held, so that when the swinging gangframe D is being oscillated and moved at the lower point in the arc naturally described the gripers will hold. the said frame down, (through the traveling bar E and suspension-rods E",) and force it to move in a plane with the said lowest point of the natural described arc, and thereby cause the saws to enter `the stone without any tendency to throw up, as would be the case were the gripers not employed. When the lever f' is in the position shown in Fig. 3 by full lines the gripers will be thrown of saws is to be replaced, the operator will permit the frame to be oscillated ,'and at the same time gradually raised, until the saws are elevated above the stone; but when the lever f' is moved to position shown by dotted lines the gripers will fall down and be made to wedge close with the ways G, and thereby prevent the saws from throwing up, and at the same time follow down with the traveling bar in a free manner.

.I would not confine myself to any particular form of friction clutch or griper to operate for wed ging the vertical way G with the housings G', as its form can be variously changed, and instead of it being made to clasp and encircle the said way, as in Figs. 3 and 6, it may be made to operate with one side of the way, and between the same and one side of one of the jaws of the housings, in which I would make it wedge-shaped and vsuspended from the arm e of the bell-crank lever e e', as shown in Fig. 7, when the operation and results would be the same.

To properly' feeddown the saws to their work with the stone, and adapt the feed to the degree of hardness of the stone operated with most advantageously, I support, from proper brackets or bearings attached to the timber A', the pulley I by the shaft I', and connect the said pulley to the shaft F2 or a band-wheel, Figs. l and 2, bya band, g'. The end of the said shaft I' is provided with a crank, h, which operates a draw-bar, h', at-v tached to a slotted'lever, k, pivoted to "tlie shaft of the screw-gear J', Figs. 1 and, which lever isV slotted in its' loose end and carries a pawl, la'. The connecting end of the rod or I draw-bar h may be variously set ,in the said slotted'lever, so as to lactwith a greater or less number of the teeth in the ratchet-wheel Vto the shaft i, Fig. 5, carrying the pinion L',

which operates with the gear M, secured to the drum M' or its shaft. The drum M' carries themain feed-chain N, which feeds off from the drum M on the drum B' as' the weight ofthe gang-saw frame D, with its saws, draws on the chain or wire cable D',

passing over the sheaves C C' froml the wind-- llass B, connected with the drum B', unwinds.

Placed intermediate betweenthe drum M and the pinion L, a nd with 'the gear L' operating l lwith the drum-gear L, is the clutch O, Fig.5,j

secured to the shaft ,'which clutch consists of a ratchet wheel, in, secured to the said shaft, and-a pawl,-n, secured tothe pinion and acting with the said ratchet-wheel by any suitable spring or equivalent, andmay ybe thrown out of action whendesired. .The

pinion L is loose on the shaft t', and is only carried with the said shaft when the said pawl is thrown in action withlthe ratchet-wheel. A

r'shaft,lP, carrying a pinion, P', is placed be` low the gear M, or of the drum M', at some other point for operation with the said gear M, and is provided with a hand-crank, Q, Fig. 5, which crank, when operated, will revolve the said gear P', and operate the gear M of the saiddrum independent of the other parts of the machine, when the pawl n is thrown out of action with the ratchet-wheel m of the pinion L.

. In machines for sawing stone it is often de. sirable when a saw breaks, or when a new gang is to be replaced, especially when the stone is partially sawed, to remove the saws immediately before the sand used with the saws sets around them. This can only be done by quickly raising them out of their grooves in the stones. In

`myinvention I facilitate the operation of raising the saws from their grooves by the several parts of my invention coacting with the reciprocating movement of the same.

When it is desirable to elevate the gang-saw yframe with its saws, I permit the driving-crank F' and its pitman F to operate in the usual manner, and by means of the hand-crank Q, turned in the proper direction, operate the pin ion P, which operates the drum, gear M, which revolves the drum M' and winds up the feed chain N, and revolves the drum B' with the windlass B, and therebyelevates the gang-frame D by -means-of the chains D' or their equivalents. When the saws have been replaced or the finished stone has been removed and a new stone substituted, I throw the pawl n out of contactwithwtheratchet-wheel 'm of the pinionl L, when the gang-frame will, by its own gravity, settle down to the stone, the several chains reeling off and on the several 'drums in their proper direction.` rlhe Vpawl n is then thrown into action with the ratchet m of the pinion L, and theloperation of feeding down the saws to the stones will proceed. As before stated, the

griper H, when operating with the vertical ways G, willp'ermit only a down movement of the saw-gang frame D. It is therefore necessary, before using the crank Q for hoisting the saws out from their grooves in the stone, to throw the lever f from a position shown by dottedy lines to that shown by full lines in Fig. 3, so as .to throw the said friction-gripers out of action with their ways, and thus permit a free sliding of the housing G G on the same, that the traveling bar E, connecting the said frame with the chains D will be capable of being raised. y

When the stone -operated with is of such hardness as tonecessitate aslow feed, the drawrod 1pz/operated by the crank h, is to have its connection with the lever k, operatingthe pawl k with the ratchet-wheel K, placed toward the end of the slot in the said lever, when the screwgear J will be made to operate slower with its gear tov effect a slower feeding o of the main chainfrom the drum M, and consequently aless feed down of the saws to the stone. When the speed of the feed is to be increased, the connecting end ofthe saiddraw-rod is to bemoved nigher to the said pawl. When the hardness ofthe stone varies the operator, without stopping the motion of the machine, willj variously shift the I raised up from their grooves orlowered to their work in a ready and easy manner, while each fraction of an inch-of the fall of the gang-saw frame will be held down in a iirm manner without the least liabilityof a backlash or throwup of the saws Afrom .the lower line of the grooves cut. The operations of the several parts are positive, and the several parts are l in themselves simple and not liable to excessive wear.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

suspendedsaw-frame supported from a suspended traveling bar by stii' suspension-rods, the combination of the friction-griper H H, with ,the vertical ways or bars G G and the housings G G attached to the said traveling bar, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the friction-griper H, ,the bell-crankvllevers e e', draw-bar-f, and handdever f', substantially as set forth.

LUCIUS B. CLOGSTON. i

Witnesses;

W. B. SWEET, Jnssn B. PHELPs.

1. In stone-sawing machines, employing a 

